The only time I ever read comic books was when I was a kid going on a car trip. It was always Archie or those creepy comics where something bad always happened to the wicked. This month, though, I was told about a reboot of the Archie comics; something more like a graphic novel, something a little less bubble-gum sugary. I read it, and now I’m hooked. It’s a lot like a YA novel; and the best thing is that there’s a new issue every month. While I was perusing the shelves at a local comic book store, I came across Gotham Academy. Of course Batman is involved somehow. It’s dark and gripping.

Olive Silverlock is a second-year student at Gotham Academy; she’s a recipient of a scholarship from the Wayne Foundation. Her mother is sick and has been in the hospital for a long time. Something happened to Olive over the summer break, but she can’t remember a thing about it. Her boyfriend, Kyle, and his sister (and new student), Maps, don’t understand why they didn’t hear from her at all during the vacation. Olive only knows that she doesn’t want to involve Kyle in whatever it is that she can’t remember.

Maps is a born explorer, and when she hears that the North Hall of the school is supposedly haunted, she can’t wait to go and check it out. Looking into the history of Gotham, Olive comes across a diary that hold many secrets regarding the school and the area. But something strange is going on that involves secret ceremonies, ghosts, a mysterious transfer student, and a puzzling emblem. And maybe Olive doesn’t know the full story about her past.

Gotham Academy: Welcome to Gotham Academy by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl was published June 17, 2015 by DC Comics. This was a purchase.